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OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Roman City Life) Smart practice A mixed round aimed at your weak spots
Unit 1
Culture: Roman city life
Roman Housing
Roman housing: insulae and the domus
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The Roman Home and Family
The Roman family: the paterfamilias, patrons and clients
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Education of Roman children
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The dinner party (cena)
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Society
Society: citizens, senators and equites
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Slaves and freedmen
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Leisure and Entertainment
The amphitheatre and gladiators
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Chariot racing and the Circus Maximus
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The Roman theatre
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The baths
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Unit 2
Literature: satire, fiction and letters
Satire and Fiction
Satire and fiction: the authors and their techniques
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Horace, Satires 2.2, 2.6 and 2.8
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Juvenal, Satire 3.190-322: the dangers of Rome
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Petronius, Dinner with Trimalchio
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Pliny and his Letters
Pliny's letters
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Experiencing Roman city life
Experiencing Roman city life in the texts
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Relationships and Roman society
Relationships in Roman society in the texts
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Experiencing Roman city life in the texts

Practise 29 exam-style questions on Experiencing Roman city life in the texts for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Roman City Life). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

  • 29 questions
  • 1–15 marks each
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20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

In Horace, Satires 2.6, who tells the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse?

Model answer

Cervius, Horace's neighbour.

Explanation

Cervius tells the fable during one of the simple dinners at Horace's Sabine farm, as a reply to someone who praises the wealth of a rich man. Letting a country neighbour tell 'old wives' tales' fits Horace's picture of homely, honest conversation in the countryside.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    Cervius (Horace's neighbour in the country)

    Accept Cervius. 'A neighbour' alone does not score. Do not accept Horace, Maecenas, Ofellus or Fundanius.

Question 2

2 marks

Source A: Horace, Satires 2.2

'Yet I will hardly stop you preferring, when a peacock is served, to treat your palate to that rather than to a chicken, spoiled as you are by empty appearances - because the rare bird costs gold and spreads out the show of its painted tail. As if that had anything to do with it! Do you eat those feathers you admire? Is the bird as handsome once it is cooked?'

What does Ofellus' comment suggest about why rich Romans valued certain foods? Make two points.

Model answer

It suggests that rich Romans valued foods like peacock because they were rare and expensive - 'the rare bird costs gold' - and because they looked impressive, with a 'painted tail', rather than because they tasted better than ordinary chicken.

Explanation

Ofellus' mocking questions ('Do you eat those feathers you admire?') expose food as a status symbol. The same idea appears in the huge mullet that has to be cut into small portions, in Nasidienus' boastful dinner and in Trimalchio's showy dishes.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    Any one from: because they were rare / because they were expensive ('costs gold') / because of their showy appearance (the painted tail), not their taste / because they were fashionable status symbols ('empty appearances') / not because they tasted better - the peacock tastes no better than a chicken

    Two different points, one mark each; max 2. Points should be drawn from the passage.

  2. 1 mark

    A second, different point from the list above

    Must be different from the first.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Juvenal, Satire 3

'Cordus had a bed too short even for little Procula, six small jugs to decorate his sideboard, a little drinking cup underneath it, and a statue of Chiron lying under the same marble slab; an old chest held his Greek books, and barbarian mice were gnawing the divine poems. Cordus had nothing - who denies it? And yet, poor man, he lost all that nothing. And the last straw of his misery is that, naked and begging for scraps, no one will help him with food, no one with a roof over his head. But if the great house of Asturicus has fallen, his mother goes about in mourning, the nobles put on black, the praetor postpones the court hearings... It is still burning, and already someone runs up to give marble and offer to pay for the building; another will give gleaming naked statues ... another books and bookcases, another a heap of silver.'

What does this passage suggest about the differences between the lives of the rich and the poor in Rome? Make two points.

Model answer

The passage suggests that the poor are abandoned while the rich are helped: when Cordus loses everything, 'no one will help him with food, no one with a roof over his head', but when Asturicus' house burns, people rush to give him marble, statues, books and silver. It also suggests the rich can even profit from disaster, because the gifts arrive while 'It is still burning', so the rich man ends up with more than he had.

Explanation

Juvenal uses a pair of contrasting examples to show injustice in Rome. The comic paradox that Cordus 'lost all that nothing' and the list of gifts to Asturicus make the point sharply. Umbricius goes on to hint that the rich man might be suspected of setting fire to his own house.

Mark scheme
  1. 2 marks

    First point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid point about the differences between rich and poor, 1 mark for a relevant reference to or quotation from the passage that supports it. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.

    Two pairs from, e.g.: the poor own almost nothing, the rich a great deal (1) - Cordus' bed 'too short', 'six small jugs' compared with 'the great house of Asturicus' (1); the poor are abandoned, the rich receive help (1) - 'no one will help him with food, no one with a roof' while people give Asturicus marble, statues, books and silver (1); the rich even profit from disaster (1) - gifts arrive while 'It is still burning' (1); the poor lose everything (1) - 'he lost all that nothing' (1); the rich man's loss is treated as a public event (1) - nobles in black, the praetor postpones the court hearings (1); the poor man's possessions are pitiful and cheap (1) - the little cup, the old chest, books gnawed by mice (1); even an educated poor man suffers (1) - his 'Greek books' and 'divine poems' (1). The second pair must make a different point. Points must come from the passage.

  2. 2 marks

    Second, different point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid point, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation that supports it. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.

    As above; must be a different point from the first.

Question 4

15 marks

'Roman writers show that life in the city was miserable for everyone.'

How far do you agree with this statement?

Model answer

All the prescribed authors find something to complain about in city life, but they write from very different positions. Juvenal's Umbricius speaks for the poor, while Horace, Pliny and Petronius' Trimalchio enjoy wealth or powerful friends. I will argue that the texts show city life as miserable mainly for the poor; for the rich it was tiresome at worst and often very pleasant.

The strongest evidence for misery comes from Juvenal's Satire 3. Rome is 'held up for the most part by thin props', and the landlord's agent patches the cracks and tells tenants to sleep soundly. Fire spreads up the insula until the poor man under the roof tiles burns last. Cordus owned almost nothing - a short bed, six small jugs, a chest of Greek books gnawed by mice - and lost it all, while no one helped him. The sick die from lack of sleep because of wagons and drovers at night; in the day the poor man is elbowed, hit by a beam and a wine jar, trampled and spiked by a soldier's hobnail; a wagon of marble overturns and crushes the crowd; pots fall from windows, so you should make your will before going out to dinner; and the drunken bully beats the poor man, whose only freedom is to beg to go home with a few teeth left.

Even the wealthier authors complain. Horace in 2.6 is hurried off at dawn to stand surety, cursed in the crowd and pestered by people asking him to approach Maecenas, and he cries 'O countryside, when shall I see you?' Pliny in 1.9 finds that the duties of a day in Rome add up to wasted time, and calls the city 'noise' and 'pointless rushing about'. Wealth does not always bring happiness either: Nasidienus' grand dinner in 2.8 is ruined when the canopy collapses onto the food and the host weeps as if his son had died; the town mouse's feast ends in terror; and Pliny's 3.14 shows a rich master murdered by his own slaves.

However, the misery is far from universal. Juvenal himself shows that the rich escape: the rich man is carried above the crowd in his litter, reading or sleeping, and still arrives first, while Asturicus is showered with marble, statues and silver after his fire and ends up richer. Trimalchio clearly loves his life of wealth, with estates 'as far as the kites fly', silver dishes engraved with his name and slaves so many that not one in ten knows him. Horace admits that being known as Maecenas' friend 'pleases me and is like honey', and Pliny in 9.6 enjoys peaceful days writing in Rome, and in 4.19 delights in his success and applause in the courts. The thousands of fans at the races in 9.6, whatever Pliny thinks of them, are clearly enjoying themselves.

We must also allow for genre. Juvenal is a satirist who exaggerates through the persona of Umbricius, who is leaving Rome and wants to justify it. The longing for the countryside in Horace and Pliny is a traditional literary theme, and both owned country estates, so their 'misery' is mainly inconvenience.

Overall, I disagree with the statement. The texts show real misery for the poor in Rome - danger, poverty and injustice - but for the wealthy the city was at worst tiring and time-wasting, and at best a place of success, luxury and pleasure. The statement is too sweeping: city life was miserable for some Romans, not for everyone.

Explanation

The key word is 'everyone': top answers distinguish between the poor, whose lives in Juvenal are genuinely miserable, and the rich, whose complaints in Horace and Pliny are about duties and noise. Evidence from all four authors, plus awareness of satire's exaggeration, supports a convincing judgement.

Mark scheme
  1. 15 marks

    Levels of response (15 marks). AO1 (5) knowledge and understanding; AO2 (10) analysis, evaluation and argument.
    Level 5 (13-15 marks): very good, detailed and accurate knowledge of a wide range of evidence from the prescribed texts (Juvenal, Horace, Petronius and Pliny) and their contexts; very good analysis of well-selected evidence about city life for rich and poor; a coherent argument with a clear line of reasoning, successful evaluation of whether the misery applies to everyone, and a convincing, substantiated conclusion.
    Level 4 (10-12 marks): good, accurate knowledge of several texts; good analysis of a wide range of evidence; a consistently well-structured argument considering both sides and a sound conclusion.
    Level 3 (7-9 marks): reasonable, mostly accurate knowledge; reasonable analysis of a range of evidence; a relevant conclusion, though the argument may be uneven or rely mainly on one author.
    Level 2 (4-6 marks): basic knowledge; some relevant evidence with limited analysis; some structure and a credible conclusion.
    Level 1 (1-3 marks): limited knowledge; little relevant evidence; weak or no conclusion.
    0 marks: no response or no response worthy of credit.
    An answer that is mostly description or narrative, or that is one-sided, cannot go above Level 3.

    Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): AO1: Juvenal 3 - buildings propped on thin beams; fire and the man under the tiles; Cordus loses everything while Asturicus is given more; a dark room costs more than a country house; sleeplessness from wagons and drovers; the rich man reads or sleeps in his litter while the poor man is crushed; the marble wagon overturns; pots from windows; the drunken bully; burglars; Umbricius leaves for Cumae. Horace 2.6 - surety at dawn, crowds, curses, requests to approach Maecenas, questions about the Dacians and veterans' land; 'O countryside, when shall I see you?'; but 'this pleases me and is like honey'; the town mouse's feast ended by hounds. Horace 2.8 - Nasidienus' dinner ruined by the falling canopy, the host weeps. Pliny 1.9 - duties add up to wasted days; 9.6 - content in Rome while the races are on; 4.19 - success and applause in the courts; 3.14 - Macedo murdered by his slaves. Petronius - Trimalchio's vast wealth, luxury and self-satisfaction; the freedmen who made fortunes. Context: real problems of insulae, fires, traffic at night; genres (satire exaggerates, letters present a self-image, the novel is comic fiction); authors' social positions. AO2: For - Juvenal's poor suffer constantly; even the privileged complain (Horace's duties, Pliny's wasted time); wealth does not guarantee happiness or safety (Macedo, Nasidienus, the town mouse). Against - the rich man in his litter and Asturicus escape or profit; Trimalchio thoroughly enjoys city wealth; Horace enjoys being Maecenas' friend; Pliny enjoys his career and peace in Rome; the fans love the races; the 'misery' of the rich is annoyance, not danger; Juvenal's persona and satirical exaggeration; the country ideal is a literary theme. Possible judgement: city life is miserable mainly for the poor; for the wealthy it is tiresome at worst and often enjoyable, so the statement is too sweeping.

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